The Most Prematurely Hyped Athletes Ever

Who's the next _______? You can fill in the blank with any athlete who's considered to be one of the best in their sport: Peyton Manning, Alexander Ovechkin, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Tiger Woods.

In the world that we live in today, information can spread faster than the blink of an eye. As a result of that, a player's hype can sky rocket faster than ever before.

On that note, meet K.J. Farfan. The five year old basketball "superstar" has already been featured on a countless number of major websites including on ESPN.

K.J. is one of many young athletes who have been given this level of recognition. Many of them haven't even read a book without pictures in it yet or learned to multiply and divide, but they're already being labeled "The Next Big Thing."

15. Sebastian Telfair

Coming out of high school, Telfair had more hype than John Wall, Derrick Rose, and Mike Conley combined. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated after considering skipping college and making the jump to the NBA.

He did go straight to the pros, but failed. His street ball style of play, though flashy and fun to watch, just didn't translate to the NBA.

13. LeBron James

No one in sports history has been more hyped than LeBron James. Why is he so low on the list? His hype, though on another level, began in high school and the athletes featured ahead of him were younger.

James' high school games began to be televised as his name began to spread. By the time he was about to enter the draft, everyone heard of him who wasn't living under a rock.

Despite it being almost impossible to match the sky high expectations, he has done exactly that, in the regular season at least.

9. David Sills

His quarterback coach Steve Clarkson also coached Matt Barkley and highly praised the youngster Sills. Clarkson told the media, "His skill set is off the chart. I've never seen anyone at his age do what he's been able to do."